Pai: No Discussions With AT&T in Cohen 'Pay' Period

FCC chairman Ajit Pai said neither he nor his staff talked with AT&T representatives during the period when the company was paying for insights into the new administration, including reportedly on net neutrality, from the President's then-attorney, Michael Cohen.

That came in a press conference following the FCC's public meeting in response to a question from Bloomberg reporter Todd Shields.

AT&T has confirmed it paid Cohen's company, Essential Consultants, but that it was not for legal or lobbying work.

One insight AT&T was certainly interested in is how the President viewed the proposed AT&T-Time Warner merger. Candidate Trump had said his administration would block an effort to combine AT&T with CNN parent Time Warner. He has been a vocal critic of the cable news net as one of the ringleaders of what he says has been a liberal media "fake news" attack on his presidency.

Broadcasting & Cable Newsletter

The television industry's top news stories, analysis and blogs of the day.

Thank you for signing up to Next TV. You will receive a verification email shortly.

There was a problem. Please refresh the page and try again.

No spam, we promise. You can unsubscribe at any time and we'll never share your details without your permission.